Skulduggery 8: Building a Criminal Empire

by Logan Jacobs

  “Are we really gonna do this?” I smiled.

  “Fuck, yes,” Penny whispered. “Give it to me, Wade. I want you to fill me up. I want your baby growing inside of me.”

  I reached down and guided the tip of my shaft just inside her tight tunnel, and then I slowly started to thrust an inch deeper at a time. Whenever I pulled back so I could plunge inside her again, the redhead bit her lip and looked up at me with her clear green eyes. And whenever I shoved a little bit deeper inside her tight pussy, Penny closed her eyes and gripped the sheets a little tighter.

  I felt my body start to build toward climax, so I let my thrusts grow faster and faster, while the beautiful redhead started to gasp louder and louder. Penny reached up and grasped my pelvis, so she could help drive my cock into her even more, and then she slid her nails up my back and clung on for dear life, as the bed rocked up against the wall.

  “Shit!” Penny cried. “Ohhh, shi--”

  I clamped my hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t wake up anyone else, but as soon as I did, the pixie thief shuddered, arched her back, and let her eyes roll into the back of her head while she gasped against my hand.

  The moment I saw Penny start to come, I didn’t want to hold back anymore. I pumped my hips into her one final time, and then I just held my stiff cock inside her as I unleashed my load inside the beautiful redhead.

  Both our hips spasmed as our orgasms crested together, and our bodies trembled against each other as we finished. I gently pumped my hips a few more times to release the last of my seed inside her tight tunnel, and then I finally dropped my hand from her mouth, rolled onto my back, and collapsed beside her on the bed.

  “Shit,” Penny gasped. “That was so much cum, Wade. Feels as if you put a pint in me.”

  “Well, you did say to fill you up,” I said with a smirk.

  “You definitely did,” the redhead laughed. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

  “I’m not the only one,” I said and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

  “Thank you,” Penny murmured. “Even if… you know, even if nothing happens, that’s okay. It still felt unbelievably good.”

  “Well, don’t worry,” I said. “We can always try again. And again. And again. And ag--”

  “You’re terrible,” Penny giggled.

  The green-eyed pixie reached down to wipe my excess cum off her lips, and then she brought her fingers back up to her mouth, so she could taste and then swallow my extra seed. She gave a contented sigh, let her hand fall back to her side, and then rolled over so she could put her head on my bare chest.

  “Well, I’m sleepy now,” the redhead declared. “Good night, Wade.”

  “Good night, Penny,” I laughed, kissed the top of her bright hair, and then let my own eyes close.

  The next morning, we both woke up early and felt well-rested, but by the time we wandered into the kitchen, Dar had already made potato flatcakes and had almost finished a sausage stir-fry. He waved his spatula at us and pointed toward the bowl of fresh fruit on the table.

  “You can start with that, if you like,” the halfling said. “I’ll have the rest of this on the table in a minute, and Ava’s just getting changed, so she’ll join us directly.”

  “What’s all this?” I demanded. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you cook two meals so close together. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

  “I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much,” Dar replied. “But somebody has to make sure that your lovely assassin has plenty to eat, and since you two were still asleep, I figured that I better take on the job.”

  “That’s very sweet of you, Dar,” Penny said. “I think you might be getting pretty fond of the idea that you’re going to be an uncle.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” the halfling said with his nose up in the air. “This isn’t a good deed or anything like that. It’s just providing somebody with the basics of life, that’s all.”

  “Sure it is,” I teased. “But from the amount of food that you’ve fixed, it looks like you’re prepared to provide a whole army with the basics of life.”

  “Well, the kid is going to be yours and Ava’s,” Dar said, “so in my defense, they might be such a badass that they might as well be an entire army.”

  “Fair enough,” I laughed.

  After Ava joined us, we all feasted on the food that Dar had made for us, and I was genuinely surprised at how good everything tasted. I was beginning to think that Dar might have held out on me all these years when he always insisted that he couldn’t cook at all like other halflings or even like his own family.

  Apparently, he just needed the motivation that he was going to be an uncle.

  When we finished breakfast, we dressed in our street clothes, collected all our weapons, and headed toward the Hanging Gardens. It was still well before noon, so there was plenty of time before Lord Flavius was supposed to show up to our meeting, but I wanted to make damn sure that we got there before anyone else did.

  Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to scope out the place and get into position before anyone else did. While I didn’t think that Flavius would set us up for an ambush, I sure as shit didn’t want to stake our lives on that, so I wanted to be prepared for anything that the day elf might have planned for us.

  Still, based on what I’d seen of him so far, I doubted that we had too much to worry about from him. In fact, he seemed like the perfect frontman for the elven side of our operations in the Gold City. He was nobility, and that gave him the connections that we needed. He was broke, and that meant he could really use our money.

  And finally, Lord Flavius seemed like just the right mix of stupid and smart for our purposes. After all, he certainly didn’t strike me as the smartest, but he also didn’t seem dumb enough that he would run his mouth when he should just keep it shut.

  When we reached the Hanging Gardens, they were almost completely empty. It was too early for most of the usual crowds to be there, but the sun overhead also threatened to make it a slightly warmer day than usual, so that might have kept people home, too.

  We wandered through rows of sprawling plants and waist-high flowers, until we finally reached the eastern quarter. I had chosen the eastern quarter first of all, because it was on the opposite side of the gardens from where our portal was. But I had also chosen it because even though our portal wasn’t close, it would be easy enough to get to, just in case something went wrong and we needed to disappear quickly.

  But the most important reason that I’d chosen this section of the gardens was because it was the easiest place to scope out any possible ambush or set-up. There weren’t many flowers here, and in fact, most of the plants were meant for the desert, so everything was a little more bare and a little more open.

  Once I made a wide circle around the fountain in the eastern quarter, I felt satisfied that Lord Flavius hadn’t sent anyone ahead of him to check things out, or at least, he hadn’t done that yet. There was still time, of course, but I wondered just how many people the elven lord could employ, when he hardly seemed to have any money to his name.

  Well, this was the Gold City. Lord Flavius might not have any servants, but he could still have a house full of slaves that didn’t have any choice but to work for him. That would be just like the elves. Too poor to pay their workers, so instead, they just used their titles and authority to force people to work for them for free.

  I clenched my teeth and refocused myself on the task at hand. There would be time later to handle the details of the revolution, just like there would be time later to throw off the elven boots on our necks, but right now, we just needed to set up our arrangement with Lord Flavius. That way, we could take money from the rest of the elves and use it to one day overthrow them.

  When I was sure that there was no one else in the eastern quarter, I positioned Ava in the branches of a tree so she could keep watch on us from above. She was far enough away to be safe from any direct action, but she had a clear view of t
he fountain and all the surrounding area, so she would be able to rain down destruction with her bow and throwing daggers if we needed her to.

  Since Lord Flavius had only seen Penny and me so far, I was happy to keep him in the dark about everyone else on our team, so I positioned Dar behind a cactus close to the fountain. He didn’t try to hide himself, but he sat down on a bench like he was just there to take in the scenery, but he should still be able to hear our conversation and rush into the fight if it came to that.

  Penny and I prowled around the rest of that quarter of the gardens until it was closer to our meeting time, and when it still didn’t seem like Lord Flavius had any plans to have us arrested or killed, we headed to the fountain to wait for the day elf there.

  I’d expected Flavius to be late, but to my surprise, when noon rolled around, the elven noble strolled toward the fountain, right on time. He still wore a ridiculous number of silken robes all layered on top of each other, and even though it was the middle of the day, the elven noble still wore so much perfume that I smelled him before I even saw him.

  The day elf had two humans with him, and based on the way they looked at their feet and shuffled forward, I guessed that they must be his slaves. They also had short swords at their sides, so they must also serve as his hired guards.

  Only an elf could have that kind of ego. After all, who the fuck else would expect a slave that they owned to also protect them? But just like they did with most other things, the elves thought they were invincible, so Lord Flavius probably imagined that his slaves were just grateful for the opportunity to serve him.

  “Lord Flavius,” I said with a nod, as Penny and I stepped forward to greet him.

  “Wade,” the elven noble replied.

  I was genuinely surprised that this soft and overly perfumed elf had actually remembered my name.

  The day elf gestured for his human guards to stay where they were, and then he advanced toward us alone. He stopped when he was still a few paces away from us, and then he glanced in every direction, like he thought that we might have set him up for an ambush.

  “Relax,” I said. “We want to pay you, not rob you.”

  “Of course,” the elven lord said and then combed his pale hair away from his face. “I’m just-- well, I’ve never done anything like this before, you know? So I… you’re not working undercover for… well, I’m not sure for who, but you’re not--”

  “We’re not working for the elves, if that’s what you’re asking,” Penny said. “Besides, you’re one of them, you know.”

  “Of course, yes,” Lord Flavius said again. “I just meant… there are some elves who believe a little more strictly in the rules of prohibition. Elves like General Tevian, even though there’s certainly not many like him in the Gold City.”

  “It’s just us,” I assured him. “There are no other elves here, and there’s no reason to be nervous. You’re still interested, aren’t you?”

  “In getting paid to introduce you to people?” the day elf asked. “Yes, absolutely!”

  “Good, then why don’t you try a little sample that I brought along for you, and then we can get down to business?” I suggested, as I took out a small flask of whiskey from the inside of my cloak.

  I handed over the drink to him, and after Flavius glanced around again, he took a quick swallow. Immediately, his eyes lit up, he smacked his lips, and then he slapped his leg.

  “By the Ancients!” the day elf swore. “That’s fucking fantastic!”

  “Yeah, we’re pretty proud of our product,” Penny said with a smirk. “So what do you think? Would other elves rather drink this than their usual temple wine?”

  “Um, yes,” Flavius said and then took another swig. “Absolutely. As soon as the elves in the Gold City taste this, they’ll never be able to go back to their usual shit.”

  “Good, because that’s kind of the whole idea,” I said as I held my hand out for my flask.

  “So how exactly is this all supposed to work?” Flavius took one last, longing look at the whiskey flask and then handed it back over to me.

  “Your part is very easy,” I said. “The biggest thing to remember is that you only talk to elves that don’t give a shit about the prohibition on alcohol, so if they drink temple wine outside of the elven temple, then it’s a pretty safe bet that you can talk to them about our whiskey.”

  “And that’s as much to cover your own ass, as it is to cover ours,” Penny added.

  “I understand,” the elven noble replied. “If the wrong people found out about our little arrangement, it would be bad for you two, but it might be even worse for me. After all, an elf who betrays his own kind is… well, let’s just say he’s not looked at very favorably.”

  “And that’s a risk you’re willing to take?” I demanded. “Because once you agree to this, there’s no going back.”

  “You’re going to pay me, right?” Flavius asked. “Because as long as I get an income out of it, I’ll do whatever the fuck you want me to. I don’t know if you realize this, but I’m a little, uh… short on coin.”

  “We might have gotten that impression,” Penny deadpanned. “But yes, we’ll pay you.”

  “Then you have my undying loyalty,” the elven noble said with a grin. “But, um… not to be crude about it, but exactly how much gold are we talking about?”

  “If you do everything that we tell you to,” I said, “then you can expect to receive one hundred gold from us a month.”

  His mouth dropped open, and then he quickly closed it with a clicking noise of his teeth slamming together before he inhaled sharply.

  “Just to introduce you to people?” Lord Flavius cleared his throat. “I mean, of course, if that’s what you want to pay me, then I certainly--”

  “It’s to set up connections,” I said as I tried to keep from grinning, “but it’s also to make sure that you keep your lips sealed. Got it?”

  “One hundred percent, yes,” the day elf said and then pretended to lock his lips and throw away the key.

  “So here’s how it will work,” I said. “You’ll pass along the word to any elven friends or acquaintances that you’ve discovered whiskey in town, and it’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever tried.”

  “That’s very true,” Flavius replied.

  “You’ll especially make sure that you tell this to the people who usually sell temple wine at parties,” I continued, “and you’ll tell all of these people-- business connections as well as friends-- that you have bought this whiskey operation, so it’s now run by you.”

  “But really, it’s run by you,” Flavius said.

  “Exactly, but the other elves don’t need to know that,” I said. “Then once you let people know that you supposedly own this business, you’ll see if they’re interested in buying from you.”

  “And if they are?” the day elf asked.

  “Then you tell them that you’ll send along some of your workers--” I started.

  “That’s us,” Penny chimed in.

  “And your workers will carry out the details of the sale,” I finished.

  “So basically, I would take credit for the sale and for owning the business,” Flavius said, “but you and this--”

  “Penny,” the pixie thief interrupted.

  “So you and Penny would handle all of the arrangements and details and actual sales work, right?” the elven lord asked.

  “We may also have a few other associates,” I said, “but yes, that’s the plan.”

  “And you’ll pay me a hundred gold a month to do this?” Flavius asked again.

  “Every month, yes,” I said. “As long as you hold up your end of the bargain. Oh, and if we ever need anything else from you-- an extra favor, that kind of thing-- then we’ll expect you to help with that as well.”

  “Then where do I sign?” Lord Flavius demanded. “I’m ready to make this little arrangement official.”

  “Oh, we won’t put anything into writing,” I laughed, “but we’ll shake o
n it, and at least in the human world, that’s as good as a written contract.”

  “Okay,” the day elf said and narrowed his eyes. “Do we have to… you know… spit on our hands or something first?”

  “I’m a human, not a dwarf,” I snickered. “Just a handshake will be fine.”

  We shook hands on it, and Lord Flavius started to turn to go, so I just cleared my throat.

  “Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” the day elf said and pivoted back around to face me. “I just thought--”

  “We’ve only agreed on the general nature of our agreement,” I said. “We still need to work out a few specifics.”

  “Like what?” Flavius asked.

  “Like when our first big test-run will be,” Penny said. “We want to start selling whiskey to the elves as soon as possible, so are there any events coming up that people really like to get drunk at?”

  “You mean other than just a normal night in the Gold City?” The day elf tilted his head to the side, and a fresh wave of perfume filled the air as he thought about the question. “Oh, I know! The Golden Lake Race!”

  “And what’s that?” Penny asked. “It isn’t some kind of kinky thing like golden showers or something, is it?”

  “Not at all,” the elven noble replied. “It’s one of the biggest boat races that we host, and it’s just two days from now.”

  “How have we not heard about that?” I muttered to Penny.

  “Oh, that’s probably just because the city was busy with their celebrations for that elven general,” Flavius said with a shrug. “But now that his party’s over, everyone’s ready for the next celebration to begin, and that would be the Golden Lake Race.”

  “So people just race boats across the lake?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes, and then other people put bets on who will win,” Flavius said with a grin. “Plus, the temple wine is always in really high demand there. It is at all the races, actually, but I mean, people just really like to get drunk at races, you know what I mean?”

  “I get the impression that people like to get drunk at a lot of events around here,” Penny snickered.